The Rose Bowl holds a special place in the hearts of many college football fans. One of the oldest bowl games in college history. It still remains a large part of college football bowls heritage and traditions. The 1997 Rose Bowl was special to me. I graduated from The Ohio State University in 1994. I lived in Lincoln Tower for two years. Lincoln Tower is close to Ohio Stadium or “The Football” which is where the Buckeyes play their home football games. I enjoyed participating in the ball games that were played at Ohio State during games while attending Ohio State University. It’s a very cool experience at the extreme limits with the Buckeye players. In 1997, my parents gave me a cold Christmas present. He bought me a ticket to the 1997 Rose Bowl game. Ohio State Buckeyes Arizona St. The Sun Devils played in the 83rd Rose Bowl.
1997 Rose Bowl January 1, 1997. The Rose Bowl is played at Rose Stadium in Pasadena, California. Approximately 100,700 fans attended this Rose Bowl. It was very cool to see all of their players wearing Arizona State and Buckeye colors. The seat for this game was great because it was very close to the football field near the fifty yard line. Sitting in the stands waiting for the game to start, they pressed me several times to make sure I was really in the game.
The Arizona State Sun Devils were undefeated in the 1996 regular season. This 11-0 Sun Devil team was coached by Bruce Snyder and led by QB Jake “Blood” Plummer.
The Buckeyes entered this game with a 10-1 record. The Buckeyes’ only loss in the 1996 season was to the Michigan River Archers. The Buckeyes have been successful with two quarters all season. The two quarterbacks were Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine. The Buckeyes were a young team. But they were strong with offensive tackles David Boston and Dimitrious Stanley. Ohio State had a tough defense behind Shawn Fontes and Andy Katzenmoyer.
Somewhere I played this game chess game with a lot of expert competitors. At halftime, the game was tied 7-9. The game definitely heated up in the middle. In the third quarter, Ohio State’s Joe Germaine connected with Dimitri Stanley. After one reception, Dimitri Stanley ran for seventy-two yards and a touchdown. At the end of the third quarter, the Buckeyes were ahead of the Sun Devils 14-10.
In the fourth quarter, behind QB Jake Plummer, the Sun Devils consistently drove the ball down the field for a score that gave them the lead. The score was 17-14 with about one minute left in the game. Using senior experience, Joe Germaine led the Buckeyes’ offense on the field last season. The Buckeyes blamed poor judgment on the Arizona State defensive players in this threat. Two penalties in the third forced this Ohio State offensive rebound. The outcome of this drive was the final Ohio State touchdown that gave the Buckeyes the Rose Ball victory. Joe Germaine was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1997 Rose Bowl.
The last Rose Ball The Ohio State Buckeyes football team sought was when running back Archie Griffin was a sophomore. Another piece of Rose Ball history is that John Cooper is the only head coach to win the Rose Ball for a PAC 10 team and a 10 team. In 1987, John Cooper and the Arizona St. Sun Devils defeated Michigan. In 1997, as head coach of the Buckeyes, John Cooper won his second Rose Bowl by beating the Arizona Giants 20-17.
.Sources:
Personal knowledge
www.wikipedia.org./1997 RoseBowl
www.wikipedia.org./1987 RoseBowl
